Defense

After a half-century of flying turboprop ISR aircraft, the U.S. Army is turning to business jets. The service plans to buy up to 11 customized Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft for its High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, or HADES, program, according to the Army’s recent Request for Information. Contractors must be able to provide up to four planes per year, based on a contract award…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans on Wednesday to warn that the Trump administration is ready to take new military action against Venezuela if the country’s interim leadership strays from U.S. expectations. In prepared testimony for a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio says the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela and that its interim leaders are cooperating, but he…

Boeing on Tuesday reported a $565 million loss on its KC-46 Pegasus refueling tanker in the fourth quarter of 2025, the latest for a program that has recorded billions in losses over the years. In an earnings call with investors, Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg acknowledged the loss is “disappointing,” but said the company is seeing encouraging signs in the aircraft’s operational…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Jan. 16 lambasted a decades-old contracting program that provides business opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses, calling it a breeding ground for fraud and disparaging it as a “DEI” effort. But experts and an executive from a firm that uses such contracts say the level of fraud critics like Hegseth alleged has been greatly exaggerated. Some…